Absent Things
by jtav
Summary: A year after the battle with Zaheer, Asami is trapped in her grief. Mako helps.


Asami's face was cold as she slid the paper across her desk. "Li, do you know what these are?"

The color drained from Li's face and her fingers trembled as she made a show of examining the paper. She was a woman who knew she was caught and who desperately hoping she was wrong. "The record of my expense account for this quarter."

"Correct." She hated this part of her job. Ever since her dad had taken her to the factory floor for the first time when she was five years old, Asami had thought of Future Industries as part of her family. The only family she had now that Korra and Bolin were gone and Mako was stuck on bodyguard duty. She was starting to think family was just another name for the people who could hurt you. She pointed to one line. "A two thousand yuan business lunch at Kwong's—on a day they were closed for renovation." Another line. "Six thousand yuans on a business trip to Omashu, except our suppliers don't remember speaking to you." Another. "A three thousand yuan charge for miscellaneous expenses." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"I—I… are you going to call the police?"

"Yes. It's not my money, it's the company's. I have a responsibility. And so did you."

Li straightened a little in her chair. Now that she had been found out, she had decided to be brave. "I had a responsibility to do the best I could for myself. Not to you and your pipe dreams. The only reason this company is still afloat is because of Varrick and the only reason we have this infrastructure contract is because you were friends with the Avatar. If you can have all these things you haven't earned then so can I."

"Enough." Asami pulled the cord next to her desk and two firebending security guards appeared a moment later. "Detain her until the police arrive." Her voice didn't sound like her voice. It sounded impersonal, measured, as if Li had done nothing worse than insult her dress. They nodded, took a still-ashen Li outside, and left Asami alone with her thoughts.

Asami stood and walked to the model of Republic City that had been her constant companion for most of the last year. The press had called her insane. Integrating the vines. Elevated streets. A more modern rail system that would allow easy access to almost any corner of the Earth Kingdom. But it could be done. She would inaugurate a new age for the city and fulfill the promise of Harmonic Convergence. Korra would have understood.

Asami pushed an elevated train along its track. Korra. None of them had seen or spoken to Korra since she had left for the South Pole and a few weeks had turned into a year. Asami remembered being on that mountain, watching as Korra's life left her. Realizing only too late what she felt for her. But there had been no joy in loving Korra. Because along with the realization of love came the realization that the poison had stolen Korra's ability to feel much of anything in return. Asami had been able to bring Korra out of her prison of mercury for mere moments. There was nothing she could do to help Korra heal, not even stroke her hair and soothe her during the nightmares. There were only the letters she could only hope Korra read.

And without an Avatar, there was no Team Avatar. One by one they had drifted off to new lives and new responsibilities. Asami had returned to work, and the rest of the board had breathed a sigh of relief that their CEO would have no more adventures. Asami told herself that it was only the life she would have had anyway if she had never hit Mako and her father had never gone insane. She would succeed. She would prove that she had earned the right to lead. And, eventually, there would be new friends and new loves. She would stop feeling like she was trapped in amber, waiting for Korra to return and her life to begin again.

Her secretary stuck his head in the door. "The police are here. The detective in charge wants to speak with you. He's with Li in the security office."

"I'll see him." There went the rest of the afternoon. There would be statements to give and forms to sign. She just hoped that tactic was more like Mako and less like Lu and Gang.

But when she opened the door to the security office, Asami's mouth went dry. There staring back at her was Mako. His hair was different, brushed and styled like General Iroh's. He seemed taller as well. An echo from the past and completely new all at once. His eyes lit up as he crossed the room to her. "Asami. It's been…well, too long." And then they were hugging, stiff and a bit too hard, the way Mako's hugs had always been. Asami held onto him for dear life. This was warm, kind human contact that she had been starving for. She had to hoard it for later.

But eventually they did pull back, hands sliding down each other's forearms until they weren't quite holding hands. "Too long," she repeated.

"You know the detective too?" Li whined. "Figures. You can't even get someone arrested without calling in a favor. Do you do anything for yourself?"

Asami's eyes narrowed and her fingers flexed. _I belong here. I have earned this._ She took a few steadying breaths. "I don't think you should take my statement in front of her."

"No, I probably shouldn't." He led her through another door into a bare room with a table and two chairs. Mako's face changed, becoming polite and searching. His detective face. She had been starstruck and dazzled by the sports star, but now she wondered how she had ever seen him as anything but this. His tireless desire to protect, his unfailing integrity, they fit him as well as the uniform he wore. For a little while, she had believed he could slay every monster that might threaten her. The princess and her champion. It hadn't worked out. Nothing about her life had worked out the way it was supposed to.

But he was her friend and here and not dying by inches at the South Pole and _here_. She let him ask his questions for a few minutes before her own curiosity overwhelmed her. "How? I mean, aren't you supposed to be bodyguarding Prince Wu?"

He blinked and then he was Mako again, sheepish and flustered. "I am. But I heard about this and…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I really, really needed to see you. Figured I could pass it off as doing a personal favor for the CEO of Future Industries."

"See me?"

"It's been a while since I've been able to talk to anyone. Bolin has his thing with Kuvira and Wu is probably the most annoying person I've ever met in my life and…" He dropped his head. "And Korra is gone. I just wanted to feel a little less stuck for a while. Like I had the life I actually wanted."

"Oh, Mako." Asami took his hand and squeezed. Of course he of all people would understand her grief.

To her surprise, he squeezed her hand even harder. "And she's wrong you know. Nobody could do what you've done with Future Industries. There were always people telling me that I was just gutter trash. That Korra must've pulled a few favors for me to become a cop." His face colored slightly. "And before that they told me that a guy like me had no business with a girl like you." He smiled and looked a bit younger. "They were right about that, but it was because I couldn't make up my mind if you paid me and not because I came from nothing. You got that contract because you're smart and because we needed you. Way I figure, Future Industries is only going to get bigger and better."

They sat back. Now it was Asami who was flushing slightly. It was the most words she'd ever heard him say at one time. A pep talk. The friendly squeeze of a hand. Such small things, but she had missed them. And they were only a drive across town away. "Thank you. We should have talked before now."

"We should have." He shrugged. "I guess we were busy. And hurting."

They returned to the embezzlement, and as Asami gave her statement, the bands around her heart loosened. She had been waiting for Korra, for love, for life. But maybe life was something you lived moment by moment. Maybe friendships and love were something that had to be seized and nurtured. She didn't have Korra. Maybe she would never have her the way she wanted. But that didn't mean she had to stay trapped in amber. There was still Tenzin and his family. There was still Mako. She wasn't the one who had been poisoned. All she had to do to escape from her prison was walk out the door.

Mako stood up. "The station will call if they need anything. It's been really great seeing you."

Asami closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let a little of the pain go. "I've got some stuff I need to do at the track this weekend. Maybe you could come? Have lunch? Your grandmother is always saying she wants to see you more."

"I'd have to bring Wu. Chief will have my head for leaving him alone this long. And family dinners are always kind of a handful."

"I'll risk Wu. And all your cousins. It'll be nice not to eat alone."

"Yeah. Great. That would be really great." They smiled at each other and it was like dawn breaking. "Walk you to your car?"

Asami nodded and they stepped out together into the sunlight.


End file.
